Triumph
by Gray
Summary: Um, first Thousand Arms fic for me, a different side of Meis is shown, and Sodina must find a way to bring him back...Gee, what do you suppose it is?


Disclaimer: Own it? Nah, not me. You must be thinking of Red Company and Atlus, because this is their game, I'm just using the characters for my own non-profit purposes…

Thousand Arms

"Triumph"

By Gray

My name is Meis…Meis Triumph. I'm a member of a "proud" and "noble" family known for one thing and one thing only…perversion. Yup, you heard me, my family is known throughout as a line of perverted womanizers. Nice reputation to have huh? It wasn't always that way though. My family was originally known for being Spirit Blacksmith's. The best actually, and although every male member of the Triumph family, including myself, is a Spirit Blacksmith, we've lost our touch over the years. I guess the spirits just don't want anything to do with perverted jerks who only care about getting close to attractive women. I'm no better I guess. I'm as big a pervert as my Dad. Of course, you be raised by a single Father whose greatest achievement is single-handedly groping every woman he sees. We'll see how you turn out…Sigh, I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound rude or testy…It's just…I met this girl, and she's…well, wonderful. I mean it; she's different from all the other girls I thought I was in love with. This one's special. When I'm around her, this feeling spreads throughout my heart, and I feel light-headed. That is until I see some other pretty girl, then I revert to my old ways and make a fool of myself…God, seeing her angry and hurt, it makes me feel so awful…I can't even begin to describe to you the feelings of self-revulsion I feel for myself, especially now…I've been such a fool all these years…I never once stopped and thought about what I was doing…Instead of trying to make the Triumph's a truly great family again, I just proved everyone right about me…Now I'm trying to keep a promise to my deceased Master…Me, the pervert, the loser, the reject, I'm trying to save the world…But I can't even keep my libido in check. Sad…so sad…I look at the friends I've made on this journey…Muza, the strong yet gullible and shy warrior with a heart of gold…Wyna, the tomboyish girl with a passion for all things, Soushi, my rival womanizer, with the combat skills to defeat any foe, Kyleen, greedy, but willing to give it all up for those she cares about, Nelsha, the mysterious dress master who can always make you laugh…And…"her". Sodina…Saying her name hurts for God's sake…She's the real reason I've undertaken this quest…Why I'm willing to die for people who all look down upon me and my family…If she just smiles at me…Then it's all worthwhile…Every sword wound, every magical burn, every defeat… it's all worth it if she's happy…So, why am I the one who hurts her the most? Why? Why… Aw, who am I kidding? She probably could care less about me…After all, she has Schmidt…Damn it, when I think of that bastard, and what he's done…Selling out his own world just because of something as stupid as greed, pride, and revenge…Of course, he has Sodina, so hey, maybe he did something right. Yes, Sodina sees me as joke I think, all my friends do I suppose…not that I blame them mind you. I am a joke, a pathetic pervert descended from a proud line of pathetic perverts. I sometimes wonder why I was chosen for this. Is it simply because there is no one else? Or some other reason. There has to be someone out there more reliable than me right? Well, who knows…Anyway, the reason I'm sitting out here on this cold windy night in town while everyone else is inside sleeping, is because of something that happened earlier. We had just arrived in town you see, and I saw some pretty girl, I don't even really remember her face, but anyway, I went into my moron mode, and gave my friends a good laugh, and made Sodina shake her head at me, ashamed of my behavior, and then I got slapped by the pretty girl for something I said I think…Pretty typical for me actually, but for some reason, it hurt a lot more than normal…So now I'm really depressed, and I'm sitting out here in front of the inn we're all staying at, wishing I could just dry up and die or something…I can't do this…I can't save the world…I'm just a little pervert trying to be a Spirit Blacksmith…Trying to be something I'm not…

Meis didn't know it, but his friends were all watching him from inside the inn.

"What's up with him? Ever since that girl slapped him, he just hasn't been himself…" Wyna noted curiously. Kyleen nodded.

"Yeah, he looks so depressed…It's weird…" She was wondering why someone like Meis, who never seemed down, would look so dejected over something that happens to him all the time.

"Maybe he really liked that girl?" Muza pointed out cluelessly, though he was pretty sure it was more than that. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he watched his old friend heave out a sigh, and absently stare out at nothing.

"I am sure he will be fine in the morning." Soushi stated calmly.

"Yeah, Meis will be back to normal in no time." Nelsha said cheerfully, ignorant apparently to the situation. Sodina just continued to stare at the defeated looking young man, who seemed so different from the bright, optimistic, and silly Meis she thought she knew so well.

"Meis…" She whispered. Without another word, she walked out the door to talk to him. The others stared after her.

"What's she doing?" Muza asked aloud. Soushi smiled slightly.

"That my friend, is something we can only guess at…" He said mysteriously.

"Meis…" She whispered to his back. He whipped his head around, and sighed as he saw it was her.

"Oh, hello Sodina…" He said in greeting, turning back to the sky.

"Lovely night isn't it?" He asked. It was simply a statement, not an attempted pick-up line like usual.

"Yes…it is." She replied, joining him in reflecting on the stars.

"Is something troubling you Meis?" She asked delicately.

"You seem to be bothered…" She was worried when he sighed again and bowed his head.

"I don't know…I guess I'm just sort of tired of the way my life is…" He said quietly. Sodina was confused. This was a whole different side of Meis. One she had never seen before.

"What do you mean Meis…?" She asked curiously. She wasn't sure why he would be dissatisfied with his life. Sure he had a large responsibility, but he had dealt with it admirably so far, showing a sense of duty that had continued to pleasantly surprise her throughout their quest together. Sure he got distracted at times, but his dedication to stopping the Acolytes, as well as visiting the Sacred Altars, was amazingly strong.

"I'm not really sure what I mean…" He said.

"No, I know what I mean, I just can't place it into words…" He smiled faintly.

"I'm not making any sense am I?" He asked her. She blinked.

"No, I sort of see what you mean…You feel dissatisfied, but helpless to do anything about it." She knew the feeling well…

"Yeah, that's right. I'm so tired of being looked at with disgust by everyone…I…I…I hate my damned life! I hate my Father for raising me this way! I hate my family for being known as a line of perverted fools…I hate…I hate myself most of all…for not being strong enough to fight back and be different…" He bowed his head again, and Sodina was shocked to see a tear slip by his defenses…

"Meis…" She was amazed at this different young man in front of her. Meis had always seemed so invulnerable to her. Like nothing could stop him. He never got depressed, always had a smile, and never gave up when the going got tough, inspiring them all to do the same. He was the group leader, through and through, and performed the role, despite his occasional perversion, admirably. Now, here was a young man, barely older than herself at only sixteen, struggling with pains he had obviously kept inside himself for a very long time. She could hardly imagine the emotional pain he must have felt every time she hit him or shook her head at him. And she felt ashamed. Ashamed that he would think the others, his friends, disliked him, and even more ashamed because he thought she disliked him, when in fact, the very opposite was true. Yes, she knew her feelings for the Triumph heir ran deep, very deep indeed. Unfortunately, she had difficulty expressing them. Being sheltered by an over-protective brother your whole life makes it difficult to develop a strong sense of self-security, and as such, she was somewhat shy, and bashful. And whenever she saw Meis turning his attentions towards other women, she felt pain, which turned to jealousy. Because she was scared, scared that he might really leave her company for another's, and she knew, if he did that, then she would be lost for good. After her brother passed on, Meis was all she had left, he was the only loved one she still had. Yes her friends were there as well, but with Meis it was different. Meis was her reason for going on…He was her strength… 

"Meis, please, don't say those things…you shouldn't hate your family. The Triumphs are a respected line of Spirit Blacksmith's known the world over!" 

"Ha! Known for perversity! And respected for the number of women they've bedded!" He was wondering why she even bothered. Why didn't she just leave him, the pathetic pervert, and go to her true love, her first love...Sodina sighed.

"And you shouldn't hate yourself either, because you're a good person Meis…you're different from the other Triumph's. You're fighting to protect this world…No one is making you…You could go home right now if you wanted…Any other person would…Yet you, you stand firm and face the danger this quest brings without fear…I don't think anyone else could or would do that…" She smiled at him, trying to lend him strength like he always did for her.

"Sodina…Please…Don't lie just to make me feel better…I know I'm pathetic…and I know you'd much rather have Schmidt and myself reversed…Have me be the Dark Master, and him be the Light Blacksmith…" He trailed off as he saw her smile fall. A strange look grew on her face. It wasn't anger, but it wasn't sadness either, it was something in-between. Standing, she raised her hand, and smacked him, hard, right on the face. He barely felt it; he was shocked to see tears leaking from her bright beautiful eyes.

"You…stupid…fool…How can you even think such a thing?" She was trembling visibly.

"Sodina I…" He began, but was cut off by her next words.

"Schmidt is a selfish, evil person…He always was…I just never noticed it…That's why my Brother always refused to teach him the forbidden arts…Jyabil knew that all Schmidt cared about was power…That's why he became the Dark Master…and you, you're a selfless person, who despite the way he was raised, fights hard for those who can't protect themselves… You do your best every day to help others, and even though it's a thankless job, you do it anyway…and that's why you're the Blacksmith of Light…It isn't a fluke, or an accident…I don't want Schmidt, Meis…I want you…" The last words were whispered, but he heard them anyway, and felt a weight lift from his chest. A tremendous burden was gone now, and he felt light. A genuine feeling of happiness flooded his body.

"Sodina…" He couldn't take it anymore. He reached for her, and brought her tearful face up to his own, and kissed her with all he could. It wasn't his first kiss…but it was the most wonderful thing he had ever experienced. He pulled away after a few moments, smiling faintly at her surprised look.

"I love you…" He whispered in her ear. She smiled happily; unable to believe this was happening, yet knowing it was.

"I love you too…" She said back, and felt her heart swell with even more happiness if that were possible when he slowly broke into the familiar grin he was famous for. They kissed again, even longer, not noticing their audience.

"Well now, that's about what I expected." Soushi said with a rare smile gracing his lips.

"Man, it's about time…" Muza said with a laugh.

"Yeah, some people are so dense, they just can't see when someone else likes them!" Wyna said, causing Muza to sigh sadly and bow his head, defeated.

"Man, they better come up for air soon." Kyleen muttered. Nelsha just smiled happily.

"Come everyone, let's leave them to their privacy…it is getting late after all." Soushi said at last. The others nodded and went back upstairs. 

Back outside, Meis and Sodina separated.

"Thank you Sodina…For everything…" He smiled at her.

"I should be thanking you Meis…If you hadn't been here for me, I'm not sure what would have happened after Jyabil died…but I know that my life was always empty even before he died, that is until I met you…So thank you, for entering my life…" She smiled, her heart was filled with love for him. He returned her smile…triumphantly.

"I don't plan on ever leaving it Sodina…" 

Author's Notes: Uh, the end…First 1000 Arms fic, so please forgive any examples of bad writing. (Like the whole thing…) This takes place somewhere towards the end of the game I guess…Not really sure when…Yes it changes things in the game, but oh well…I just got tired of Meis and Sodina being so skittish about their feelings, and I wanted to show a different side to Meis then normal…I think he acts perverted for a different reason then others might think, and I believe he would be rather ashamed of his family as a whole. Probably more so after falling for Sodina, since it is part of what keeps him from her…Please review and tell me what you think!


End file.
